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Dodge, Petty deny they will partner in 2013

June 11, 2012

Contrary to some rumors, Richard Petty Motorsports is not ready to announce a deal with Dodge for 2013. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Dodge on Tuesday denied that it has concluded a deal for 2013 with NASCAR team Richard Petty Motorsports, even though rumors to the contrary continue to swirl through stock-car racing circles that Petty was ready to make the switch from Ford.

Autoracing1.com this week went as far as to suggest that the deal will be announced publicly on Friday, June 15, at Michigan International Speedway, where NASCAR will race this weekend. Not true, according to Dodge management.

“I would be the person to ask,” Beth Paretta, SRT Motorsports operations manager, told Autoweek. “We know there is a ton of interest out there to hear what our plans are for 2013. I keep being asked, and it's honestly the same answer: We're simply not there yet.”

Penske Racing—Dodge's only Sprint Cup Series team this season—on March 1 announced that it will switch to Ford next year, leaving Dodge without a team contracted to run its Charger race car in 2013. Various teams, including Richard Petty Motorsports, have been considered potential Dodge runners, but Paretta insisted that a lot of the rumors are “simply speculation.”

“I don't know nothing about it,” the seven-time NASCAR champion said in a Tuesday afternoon phone call to Autoweek. “I came in from a meeting at the Petty Foundation and got hit over the head with a bunch of people asking me what I was gonna announce on Friday in Michigan. I called Victory Junction, and they said they didn't have anything. I called my people at RPM, and they said they didn't have anything. I talked to my people here [at Petty Garage], and they said they didn't have anything.

"I don't know what this is all about or where it started. I know that sometimes one media cat will tell another guy something and it'll go from there, but this one is all news to me.”

Mac Morrison
- Mac Morrison is Autoweek’s senior editor for Motorsports covering racing at all levels, from club events to NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA and Formula One. He also contributes to Autoweek’s coverage and testing of new cars and the automotive industry.
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